Month: January 2014

One of our family favourites; we usually have this on Christmas Day, of course you can eat this at any time of year, provided you have enough space that is!
75g Butter 
150g Golden Sugar
2 medium eggs, at room temperature, beaten
175g Self Raising Gluten Free Flour, sifted
1 tsp Xanthem Gum
175g stoned dates, chopped very finely (by hand, or better still in a food processor)
175ml boiling water
½ tsp Good Quality Vanilla Essence
2tsp Coffee Essence, preferably Camp
¾ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
8 individual pudding basins, lightly oiled with groundnut oil
Baking Tray.
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
Put the chopped dates in a bowl.  Pour the boiling water on them.
Add Vanilla and Coffee essence and the Bicarbonate of Soda. Put to one side.
Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy.
Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition.
If it looks like it is ‘curdling’ (by adding too much egg at once), add a tablespoon of flour and make sure it is well mixed in before adding more egg.
Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon.
Fold in the date mixture, including the liquid.
Divide the mixture between the pudding basins.
Place on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 mins until the top of the puddings ‘spring back’, when pressed gently.
To serve, slide a palette knife around the edge of each pudding and turn them out onto serving plates.
If they have risen too much, and the tops are too rounded, slice a slither off  so that they sit flat on the plate.
Serve with toffee sauce (see above)
These will freeze beautifully for up to one month.